Photonics Fabrication Process Engineer - Santa Barbara

Xanadu; United States; On-site; USD 130,000 - 150,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Equity

Benefits

Job summary

Xanadu in Santa Barbara, CA seeks an entry-level Photonics Fabrication Process Engineer to join the Fabrication Process Engineering team. You will help deliver photonic quantum computing hardware by improving thin-film lithium niobate waveguides and electro-optic modulators, collaborating with physicists and engineers across the group.

You will contribute cleanroom, metrology, and data analysis expertise, defining experiments, and advancing process performance while interfacing with internal

Qualifications

• PhD in Physics, Engineering, Experimental Sciences, or related field with a focus on device fabrication, OR a Master's degree with 3+ years of cleanroom process development experience.
• Experience operating cleanroom tools including photolithography, deposition (PVD, CVD), wet & plasma etching (RIE, ICP), and characterization (e.g., XRR/XRD, SEM, AFM, Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence, ellipsometry).
• Knowledge of birefringent thin film stack metrology, characterization, and optimization.
• Experience developing cleanroom recipes and maintaining detailed process documentation.
• Experience with statistical process control.
• Experience working in a collaborative team-based development environment.
• Ability to operate autonomously in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple competing priorities.
• Experience with data analysis and related software, such as Python, GitHub, JMP, MATLAB, etc.
• Availability for travel required (≤ 20% travel time).

Responsibilities

• Contribute to development and optimization of processes to build integrated photonic devices from thin film lithium niobate.
• Design and execute fabrication process improvement experiments, including defining fabrication splits and analyzing inline data.
• Define and execute metrology and failure analysis plans to identify and mitigate failure modes.
• Challenge state-of-the-art in performance metrics for integrated photonics fabrication.
• Stay abreast of new developments and rapidly implement learnings in fabrication process development.

Skills

Data analysis

Python

MATLAB

JMP

GitHub

Statistical process control

Team collaboration

Autonomous work

Education

PhD in Physics, Engineering or related with device fabrication

Master's + 3+ years cleanroom experience

Tools

Photolithography

PVD

CVD

RIE

ICP

XRR

XRD

SEM

AFM

Raman spectroscopy

Photoluminescence

Ellipsometry

Job description

About Xanadu

Xanadu’s mission is to build quantum computers that are useful and available to people everywhere.

At Xanadu, we are learners, innovators, researchers, collaborators and problem solvers. We are creating something that has never been built before. What we are doing is extremely hard, the classic moon shot. Few people in their life will be able to be a part of something like this, where if we are successful, the technologies we develop will solve some of the world’s most challenging problems, and literally change the world. And that is something to be excited about!

Your role and responsibilities

As an entry-level Photonics Fabrication Process Engineer based in Santa Barbara, CA, you will work within the Fabrication Process Engineering team to deliver Xanadu’s photonic quantum computing hardware. You will collaborate with our established team of physicists and engineers to support existing efforts to improve the performance of thin‑film lithium niobate (TFLN) waveguides and electro‑optic modulators. In this role, you will contribute your experience spanning cleanroom fabrication, thin‑film characterization, and metrology, while interfacing with internal stakeholders to understand critical performance requirements for electro‑optic modulator technologies.

• Contribute to the development and optimization of process modules used to build integrated photonic devices from thin film lithium niobate.


• Design and execute fabrication process improvement experiments, including defining fabrication splits, gathering, and analyzing inline data.


• Define and execute metrology and failure analysis plans to identify and mitigate failure modes and assess results of process optimization experiments.


• Challenge the state-of-the-art in key performance metrics associated with integrated photonics fabrication.


• Stay abreast of new developments in the field of photonics fabrication process development and rapidly implement new learnings and discoveries.

Basic qualifications and experience

• PhD in Physics, Engineering, Experimental Sciences, or related relevant discipline with a focus on device fabrication, OR a Master's degree with 3+ years of cleanroom process development experience.


• Experience in the operation of cleanroom tools including photolithography, deposition (PVD, CVD), wet & plasma etching (RIE, ICP), and characterization (e.g., XRR/XRD, SEM, AFM, Raman spectroscopy, photoluminescence, ellipsometry, etc.).


• Knowledge of birefringent thin film stack metrology, characterization, and optimization.


• Experience developing cleanroom recipes and maintaining detailed process documentation.


• Experience with statistical process control.


• Experience working in a collaborative team-based development environment.


• Ability to operate autonomously in a fast-paced environment and manage multiple competing priorities.


• Experience with data analysis and related software, such as Python, GitHub, JMP, MATLAB, etc.


• Availability for travel required (≤ 20% travel time).

Preferred qualifications and experience

• Experience in integrated photonics (familiarity with passive and active photonic components, such as waveguides, modulators, switches, beamsplitters, resonators, MZIs, etc.).


• Demonstrated track record of achieving low loss in integrated photonic components through fabrication process development.


• Experience designing photonic components, including performing device simulations and layout.


• Experience with large dataset analysis and statistical reporting.

Compensation and benefits

This is for a new position. Your base salary will be determined based on your location, experience, and internal benchmarks. The base salary range is 130,000 - 150,000 USD. You will also be eligible for equity and benefits.

Culture and values

Our values are important. They are fundamental and lay the foundation for culture at Xanadu. Learn more about our values here.

Diversity & inclusion

We are an equal opportunity employer and encourage candidates of all backgrounds to apply. We are committed to building an inclusive, safe, and equitable culture and fostering an environment where our employees feel included, valued, and heard. We are committed to meeting the needs of all individuals and support a barrier-free workplace. Should you require accommodations at any point during the recruitment process please contact Recruiting at [e-mail].

Hiring process

Please be advised that we may use artificial intelligence (AI) tools to assist in the screening and assessment of applicants for this position. These tools assist our recruitment team but do not replace human judgment. Final hiring decisions are ultimately made by humans. If you would like more information about how your data is processed, please contact us.